Nunavut businesses opened the new year with two major costs going up: fuel prices and the now-$19 minimum wage.
Rankin Inlet entrepreneur Silu Autut revealed that the increased costs might force him to close one of his businesses, while Agnico Eagle Arena restaurant Iglu Donairs announced on Facebook that “everything has gone up in price” and the company apologizes for raising prices, but “we have to do it to continue serving our customers good quality food.”
Three burgers at Arctic Connection will set you back nearly $50 – which once seemed like a lot of money – while a bag of beef jerky is nearly the price of the minimum wage at this point. Homeownership is becoming increasingly out of reach for all but the wealthy across the country. Making six figures hardly feels like moving the needle.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau famously said in a summer 2021 press conference, “Forgive me if I don’t think about monetary policy. You’ll understand that I think about families.”
This virtue signalling works when times are good, but they’re not good anymore, and the guillotine of reality is dropping down.
Inflation affects everyone, of course: from those without jobs struggling to afford necessities to the Government of Nunavut desperately trying to hire nurses and build homes.
And it’s not just inflation. Times are rough in Canada, as seen by the tent cities virtually everywhere, aggressive protesting and general disintegration of civility and national identity.
As Iglu Donairs wrote, everything is going up. Inflation is something of a spiral: life costs more, so prices have to go up, so life costs more, so prices have to go up, and so on.
So what can you do?
Though your money may lose value as time goes on, your education and skills won’t. They are safeguards against inflation, like a personal gold stash hedging against the decline of fiat currency. No one can take your education and skills away from you.
And fortunately in this territory, Nunavummiut have many opportunities to gain those skills. Non-profit organizations and government departments endlessly advertise chances to learn different and valuable skills, and there are many opportunities for youth to pursue school and career opportunities.
When the world’s in turmoil, we can only take care of ourselves. In this environment, the best investment is in yourself and building the inflation-resistance within.